•May 28, 2025•
On Saturday, June 14th, the Sullivan Street Machine Association will be celebrating their “St. Jude Dash and Bash” car show at Wyman Park, beginning at 11:00 a.m., with all cars welcome. There will be a $15.00 entry fee. Registration is at 10:00 a.m., the car show is from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and at 2:00 p.m., awards will be given.
For more information, call (217) 728-7848, (217) 273-8487, or visit Facebook at facebook.com/SullivanSMA.
•May 28, 2025•
On July 19th from 6:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Lovington Firehouse, the Gary Davis pancake breakfast and silent auction will be held. This event is open to all friends and family of Gary, as well as the public.
Gary went to Springfield Memorial Hospital on March 31st for a video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) to remove a carcinoma asbestos cell on his right lung. The surgeon was unable to complete the VATS procedure and had to use the traditional thoracotomy surgery, a much larger, open incision, to remove the cancerous cell and entire lobe of the lung. During recovery, Gary developed hospital-acquired pneumonia and required a ventilator to breathe. He has remained at Springfield Memorial Hospital since March 31st and is still requiring ventilator support.
Moving forward, Gary will need to be placed in a long-term acute care hospital (LTACH), which specializes in weaning ventilator-dependent patients off a ventilator in hopes of resuming a normal life. His daughter, Nikki Trower, is his primary caregiver and lives 30 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband and two small children. For this reason, the family would like to move Gary to Regional One LTACH in Memphis to ensure he has family support while working towards breathing on his own again. In addition to family support, this facility has a 97% success rate in weaning patients from ventilators, with the national average only 52.8%. Insurance will not cover transportation from Springfield to Memphis.
All proceeds will be used to cover the transportation costs as well as the medical bills incurred during his lengthy hospital stay. To donate silent auction items, contact Nikki Trower at (217) 521-7267, Kelly Creek at (217) 521-7422, or Pam Anklam at (217) 201-0662. Money can also be sent by PayPal at www.sparrows-unlimited.com, and put “Davis benefit” in the description field.
•May 21, 2025•
On Mondays, beginning June 16th through August 11th, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., in the Community room at the Marrowbone Public Library in Bethany, the Moultrie County Health Department, in conjunction with Family Service of Champaign County, will be providing, “Caregiver Stress Busting Dementia Program” for family caregivers. This program will have interactive, practical discussions in small groups (up to eight people) and is available at no cost to those caring for family members with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of Dementia.
The “Stress-Busting Program” will provide attendees with stress management techniques, relaxation and coping strategies, and an opportunity to speak with other caregivers having similar experiences. This program was developed at UT Health.
For more information or to register, call the Moultrie County Health Department at (217) 728-4114. The registration deadline is June 9th.
•May 21, 2025•
The Lovington First Christian Church will be sponsoring an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Thursday, May 29th, from 12:00 to 5:30 p.m. at 301 S. County St, Lovington.
Those wishing to donate can pre-register by calling Darlene Barlow at (217) 855-9397 or registering online at Blood.org with the Lovington First Christian Church site. Walk-ins are welcome.
•May 21, 2025•
On Saturday, May 24th, the Sullivan Street Machine Association will be celebrating their 45th Memorial Weekend “Cruise In” car show on the Sullivan Square, beginning at 3:00 p.m. There will be a live DJ and a 50/50 drawing. This is a fun event; no prizes will be awarded.
For more information, call (217) 728-7848, (217) 273-8487, or visit Facebook at facebook.com/SullivanSMA.
•May 21, 2025•
The Moultrie County News Progress will be closed on May 26th, in observance of the Memorial Day. All advertising and news items are due by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, the 23rd.
•May 14, 2025•
The Bethany Senior Citizen Potluck will be held on Wednesday, May 21st at 11:00 a.m. at the Bethany library, located at 216 W Main Street. Fried Chicken will be furnished. All are welcome.
•May 14, 2025•
Sarah Bush Lincoln will provide sports physicals to athletes from Sullivan schools.
Sports physical clinics will be held from 8:00 a.m. to noon, and from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4th, and on Wednesday, August 6th at the SBL Sullivan Clinic, 7 Hawthorne Lane, Sullivan.
“We’re proud to offer these sports physicals as a way to give back to our local schools and support student-athletes,” SBL Vice President of Practice Management Brooke Zerrusen said. “By donating the fee to the schools’ athletic booster clubs, we’re helping strengthen programs that mean so much to our communities.”
The cost is $20 per physical, with all fees being donated to the Sullivan Sports Boosters. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 217-728-8441. For more information, visit https://www.sarahbush.org/sportsphysicals/.
•May 14, 2025•
On May 17th, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the 4 Star Diner, 1100 Route 121 in Mt. Zion, the annual “Rip Roarin’ Extravaganza” Memorial Car Show will be held. All makes, years, and models are welcome to enter. The entry fee is $15.00, and there will be a 50/50 drawing as well as door prizes awarded (must be present to win).
This event is in memory of Greg Hostetler (12/15/75-5/13/24), with all proceeds going to Moultrie County first responders.
•May 7, 2025•
Soyland Access to Independent Living, SAIL, will hold a Personal Assistant Training for people interested in working as a Personal Assistant on Thursday, May 15th, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Shelbyville SAIL office, located at 1604 West Main Street, Suite 100 in Shelbyville.
Assistants are employed by people with disabilities to perform household chores and personal care tasks in their homes. Personal Assistants are paid for their work by the State of Illinois through the Department of Rehabilitation (DORS) program. A reservation is needed to attend the training.
For more information about the Personal Assistant training or to make a reservation, contact Emily Dobson at 217-876-8888 or 800-358-8080 or email edobson@decatursail.com.